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Partisanship on Iran Is Dangerous for America + k/ F. B/ m/ Z& w+ ^1 k* C' u, c
Trump is doing the right thing for the U.S., and we Democrats should judge the war on ; H7 @8 R# \5 ~. M+ D/ t
the merits. 6 _% h2 j, h: |4 N* \4 C* C$ x
By David Boies ' Z. m @& S1 B" S
March 12, 2026 1:34 pm ET : ^9 `( F7 z, p( f, i" X
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Every past president since Bill Clinton, Republican and Democrat alike, has declared that
5 y. H. {8 e6 |7 [1 ?8 ^Iran couldn’t be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Not one acted to prevent it.
( w" A! ?. U5 \5 B% K; H7 ^Every president since Ronald Reagan has condemned Iran’s role in terrorism against
( ~' M) J n" @American citizens, interests and allies. Not one acted to stop it. Instead each president
, A; f h* p8 ileft his successor with a more dangerous Iran and a more complicated threat to 9 _" z! c, u, M) j
address. 5 W' w v) Z) H+ c! f0 R
0 D; f/ o6 e& KLast June President Trump undertook a limited military operation designed to interrupt , }% C8 }* O+ q0 e+ A$ Z
Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and discourage the country from continuing its : w; p/ R$ j- @ K8 f t
nuclear program. In the face of Iran’s refusal to forswear nuclear weapons and evidence - v+ N, I# H' e0 R
that it was rapidly increasing the number, sophistication and range of its missiles, Mr. 5 H2 K, Q' w. k7 Z
Trump began the current military campaign.
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$ G2 p+ V% @ \" G/ W. J, z* VIf he hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous
* i9 w( [2 I, o4 ^: N7 Mchoice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles + A$ Q- w, D% J# }, P- v. P
now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York
7 w1 L0 G# _* C$ Jor Washington—perhaps with a nuclear device or at least a dirty bomb.
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No sensible person wants a war, a president least of all. Wars destroy lives, waste . j8 _" n: O" F* D" g2 Z
treasure and usually are unpopular. But the widespread hostility to this military action 2 M8 l( z, f' ~+ U
seems untethered to any serious discussion of the merits. What is the alternative? ; N5 {" j& q- B+ g6 F9 q- P' k
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Obviously, few are prepared to say it is simply to permit religious madmen who swear
5 T( i1 Z! r% h- K( O“death to America” and back up their threats with terrorism to secure nuclear weapons
$ f) w: N3 C( }: [" Zand the capability to deliver them. The scope and scale of Iran’s response show how 2 ]4 \ B# c$ c& x7 F
much its military capabilities have progressed, and how dangerous it would have been8 i% c& V" s5 _# s+ b' V7 c
to permit them to increase further. 4 B4 q) A/ j, i0 |: Z6 _5 i
3 @) A( f/ B7 E K! ^# q6 Y8 jFor three decades we have tried everything that each president could think of. We’ve 9 y! }) M# Z* O( P2 C: [
tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic % ^% [3 q$ Y0 I
sanctions. None worked. The problem is that there is only one language Iran’s leaders ( o B4 v2 b( ]5 t' [, o
understand.
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I understand some of the hostility to Mr. Trump’s action. The isolationist wing of the x/ m5 t0 y& p( ?9 c3 w4 j6 b
Republican Party and the pacifist wing of the Democratic Party each are wrapped in the " W; X7 k& v2 L" d* \. Q
fantasy that we can afford to ignore the capabilities and intentions of enemies because
0 n8 L! a$ r6 L2 J( @they are thousands of miles away. Two hundred years ago that view was credible. One : _! r( L- @- Z" N" k
hundred years ago it was plausible. Today it takes only one missile carrying a nuclear or
7 g2 \- e. i& Q0 }* ndirty bomb to get through our defenses, or one such device smuggled into this country,
0 K7 x+ Z2 E9 T2 L8 X" f7 ]to devastate a city. X1 d/ V$ Q; k
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I also understand—and deplore—the fringes of both parties that apparently hate Israel
8 S1 J" }9 n9 g" U4 cand Jews so much that they oppose any action to neutralize Israel’s enemies. $ s+ Y4 u% c6 w8 K- N( m9 R! r
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What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition + e! v( A: f. G( h1 `) F( K+ r
rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself. We used to say that politics stops
@( [7 U$ P' S* N8 H0 Kat the water’s edge. That was never completely true; the willingness to bludgeon a 7 A; A* O m5 c; u j$ k* P+ D
president over foreign policy for domestic political gain is as old as Vice * G2 k, y" F/ ~4 c$ P8 ?
President Thomas Jefferson’s attacks on President John Adams. Yet for most of our
( W; u' M0 ]4 d% b5 `history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt. + b1 \ |7 z5 X5 x" P O
8 ?! G8 ?8 J" J* ?More important, criticisms have historically been based on policy differences over the $ T+ i, }8 @$ g
military action at hand, not knee-jerk opposition to the president himself. Many : n, N4 t7 T2 d3 v
Republicans supported Mr. Clinton’s military actions and President Obama’s surge in & {8 ~" V' a/ P& m3 Z0 E
Afghanistan; many Democrats supported President George W. Bush’s actions in
$ n& X# n/ m3 y+ c4 @Afghanistan and (at least initially) Iraq. More Republicans than Democrats probably
. D. E3 r4 M+ ?supported President Lyndon B. Johnson’s actions in Vietnam.
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, T& Y% j, G# g; k" n: b8 EMore important still, even when we believed a president’s actions were misguided, we
6 i3 z! `, }( Balmost always wanted him to succeed if possible. Some efforts to curtail what the
0 I1 y7 q. |5 [+ epresident is doing in Iran seem motivated simply by a desire not to give him a win—
. f+ F" G7 |/ n& ~# o0 keven if it means a loss for America.
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% v9 g* G3 N# GWhen North Korea invaded South Korea President Harry S. Truman acted to stop it. It
7 y: g6 i$ R* n! Bwas so unpopular that Truman didn’t seek re-election in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower was 2 l1 Z2 Z6 V3 G' g0 j% ^2 h3 O3 ]
elected on the promise that he would go to Korea and end the war. But while Truman 2 W! F5 U3 D; _- w. ^7 ~$ X: ~& m. d
was president, lawmakers on both sides supported Truman, even when he removed the
% B: D7 d) K) Q( vpopular Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his command. 3 N8 u" y$ `; ^" c ~9 ]
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Truman’s successful defense of South Korea began a four-decade bipartisan effort to ' G) i5 U4 U/ \' J- I
contain, and ultimately end, communism as a global threat. One wonders what the * q- L' I) J- T( T
result would have been if he faced a country as divided and partisan as today’s.
5 u3 J; E, s* F7 a" Q4 K( ~3 M% j5 CRepublicans, including Mr. Trump, bear a share of the blame for the divisiveness and
4 Y; W" t" t6 ^+ aextreme partisanship that has stunted our ability to cooperate and work together. Those 9 c; f, a, G2 e& B9 x7 }& x: Y, `
of us who generally oppose Mr. Trump but who recognize the threat Iran poses need to - _ ]. E5 ^8 ^9 J
support the military action not because we owe anything to Mr. Trump but because we
% J& |3 e J2 o# G) l& oowe it to ourselves, our country and our children.
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8 f3 T; h: l' f; e/ w0 H, YIf we opposed the war and succeeded in pressuring Mr. Trump to curtail it before the $ i' O$ i7 \8 K" E6 y. U) V
mission is accomplished, we would have the satisfaction of defeating someone we 5 F7 O% s0 z8 C# o" u3 }+ M$ E
generally oppose, which might help ourselves politically. But America would be worse 6 N, @ Q+ b. P+ R
for it.
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America’s national security is too important to hold hostage to partisanship. We / v1 H& c7 ~# H7 O3 h
Democrats need to begin by asking what our position would be, and why, if the action + m& I: L i9 {. {
had been taken by Mr. Clinton, Mr. Obama or Mr. Biden. I’m not counting on it, but 7 N+ w& g! I5 U4 g% G* `4 q% A
maybe in 2029, when a Democrat is in the White House, our Republican neighbors will ( a, v/ W# s( Y" M7 m
return the favor, and judge that president’s efforts to keep our nation safe on the merits
, i# K9 i) \! u5 |, Y& ^and not merely obstruct. / }3 z3 H( Q, \, g0 @8 Y1 \1 d* C
# I) O0 \/ O; [! e/ D( b. H: rIf we believe that Iran presents a serious threat, we need to support the president on
3 C! M3 X# ?, h$ H+ o N/ r' athis issue. There’s plenty to disagree with him about, and we don’t need to like or
6 u; w s4 H; H% s6 q& kadmire him. But on Iran we should be on common ground. Not primarily because we
! u& [" q+ A' O: I! M; X. R% fwant to reduce partisanship in foreign affairs—although that is conceivable. Not
& N7 M# x( w( G( p7 A( U) x/ b3 Lbecause the voters will reward us for a more measured response—although I hope they ) E% d8 M9 h! [* u
will. But because it is the right thing to do for our country, our children and the
/ r8 H2 r9 L- j! L7 LDemocrat who will succeed Mr. Trump as president. * a4 c2 T0 I* `0 I5 r% R! d, u
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Mr. Boies is a founding partner of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner |
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